


Connection

by omegas



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, THIS WORK CONTAINS SPOILERS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-25 21:27:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12541592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omegas/pseuds/omegas
Summary: STEM and Mobius are gone, and Sebastian Castellanos is finally living the normal life he always yearned for with – at least, what’s left of – his familyThat is, everything was normal; he wakes up one morning to a mysterious tattoo on the inside of his arm. Is it connected to his time in STEM? Or something else entirely?





	Connection

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the following prompt from super-mario-girl on Tumblr:  
> It’s one of those soulmate AUs where the first words your soulmate says to you are written on your arm.  
> But Person A has always been confused because the words on their arm are in a different language.  
> This motivates A to spend years studying and learning the language and the cultures of whatever country that language is from.  
> They discover that the words on their arm mean “Are you alright?”  
> Later on, the time has come. It’s A’s first time visiting the country thay have been studying for years.  
> They’re on the train/subway, and they accidentally bump into Person B, who says in their native language, “Are you alright?”
> 
> (also I spelled Lily's name wrong, but let's pretend it didn't happen)

STEM.  
A system created to link the minds of multiple individuals, to experience the memories and desired realities of its core user. If implemented correctly, the system could have brought peace to the masses. Instead, in both its alpha and beta forms, it brought grief and terror upon everyone involved.

Now, the horrific brain-child of Ruben Victoriano was out of commission; and for good, this time. That fact was one of the only things that brought peace to Sebastian Castellanos' racing mind. It, and the reality that STEM's beta Core and his own daughter, Lilly, was safe and sound.

Sebastian considered his life after STEM's dismantlement and Mobius' fall incredibly average. He was still a detective with the Krimson City police, still dove into cases with his partner Joseph Oda. Although, coming home to his daughter was a phenomenon he would never get used to. Listening to her talk about her day at elementary school, tucking her into bed; it was surreal to Sebastian.

Mere months passed since the fall of Mobius. Lilly still only knew her time as the Core as a bad dream, living life oblivious to the fog that would hang over her father. With every set of keys forgotten in the front door's lock and every trip back home to collect an essential item for work, the fog only got thicker and thicker.

By now, the fog was so thick it refused to give Sebastian his rest. His mind was all fog, all the time; trying to remember what he'd forgotten that day, trying to anticipate what he would forget in the morning. Trying to finally accept the fact that STEM was gone for good and Myra with it, but their daughter Lilly is here to stay.

He rolled over in bed for the millionth time that night. Red LEDs told him it was already 5:00, so there was no point in trying to fall back asleep. He turned onto his back. His ceiling fan rotated slowly to relieve the summer heat, and with every turn of the blades, Sebastian could still hear Myra's tired voice. _Turn that thing off_ , her voice would be thick with sleep as she asked, _what if it falls on us during the night?_

"It never will, Myra," Sebastian spoke into the darkness, "...I know what I'm doing."

When his legs swung over the side of the bed, he instinctively flinched before pressing his toes into the carpet. He sighed and reassured himself, "I stopped drinking. No more bottles are on the floor."

Sebastian thanked his floorboards for not groaning under his weight as he made his way to the restroom. After a quick trip to the toilet and reply to one of Kidman's infamous 3 a.m. texts, he slid his phone into the pocket of his pajamas and began to reach for his toothbrush.

His fingertips grazed the cool metal of the cabinet handle but stopped just short. His eyes were drawn to the pale skin of his inner arm. Battle scars from past Krimson Police cases decorated his skin, but now a new set of scars -- _marks?_ \-- made themselves home in his arm.

Sebastian rubbed at them with a thumb. Then with a thumb with saliva as a lubricant. The markings didn't budge. His eyebrows knit themselves together as he began to trace their outlines. Smooth curves, sharp drops, dashes that hugged the corners of the symbols. When the markings didn't even budge under the tap's barrage of water, Sebastian gave up; it was probably just ink from the office, anyway.

By the time his morning routine was complete, it was time for Lilly to start her's. It was Sebastian's job to judge her outfits, pour her cereal and deliver bone-crushing hugs before she made her way to the school bus. When he would climb into the carpool with Joseph soon after, there would still be an ear-to-ear smile plastered on his face; Sebastian loves Lilly more than anything in the world.

Today, though, the smile on his face faded a little when he struck up a conversation with Joseph.

"When you got out of STEM, did you ever..." it was such a strange question he didn't know how to get it out, "have strange lettering appear on your body? Out of nowhere?"

Joseph's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the freeway ahead. Eyes darted towards Sebastian in thought, and after a few moments he slowly said, "...Yes. On my ankle, like a tattoo."

"What does yours say?" Sebastian almost demanded.

" _Watashi wa daijōbuda._ "  
Sebastian stared at his partner, searching for more information. Joseph stared back as he turned into his exit. "In Japanese, it means _I'm alright_."

Sebastian hummed in understanding. Wordlessly, he undid the cuff of his button-down and shimmied his sleeve up. When Joseph pulled up to a red light, he showed his inner arm to his partner. "Know anything about mine?"

Joseph's eyes widened right away. He read the print once, drinking it in slowly. He tried to go in for seconds, but a car horn's honk drew his eyes to the road. With one hand on the wheel, Joseph loosened his tie and cleared his throat, unsure on how to behave.

"Come on, what is it?" demanded Sebastian.

" _Daijōbudesu ka_ ," Joseph said the phrase quickly, "It's asking, _Are you alright?_ , in Japanese."

Sebastian hummed once again as he readjusted his shirt. "We'll have to ask Kidman if she knows anything about this stuff. Ours probably just match because we were in STEM together."

That released some tension in Joseph's muscles. Their trip ended, and they bounded up the stairs of KCPD; bombarded with cases and possible leads in cold-cases from the moment they entered the doors. Despite the heavy workload, the text on Sebastian's skin was still gnawing at him. There had to be some significance; other than that he and Joseph were in STEM together. If that truly were the case, why didn't Lilly have something related? Or Kidman?

A chance for answers came as the day was winding down. Joseph and Juli made themselves comfortable in Sebastian's office, cooing over Lilly's drawings and an old family portrait that hung on his corkboard. With a firm a-hem into his gloved fist, Joseph drew the attention to himself.

"Sebastian and I have something we'd like to ask you, Kidman," he said, "It's about...STEM."

"Okay," she looked between the two men, "I can answer whatever you have questions about."

Juli's confusion grew as Sebastian began to roll his sleeve up to the elbow. As the Japanese characters on his arm were revealed, she came closer. "You got a new tattoo?" she asked, "Trying to be a cool dad for Lilly?"

Sebastian rolled his eyes and Joseph sighed into his palm.  
"Joseph and I have these matching tattoos what we did not get," Sebastian emphasized, "He thinks it's from when we were in STEM together. Nobody around here knows STEM like you do, so we want to ask; are they STEM-related?"

Juli gave an honest shrug. "Mobius never destroyed Ruvik's hand-written files about STEM. I kept them after we destroyed the system, Sebastian; I can bring them to your house if--"

Sebastian halted her offer with the wave of a hand. "I don't want to bring that stuff anywhere near Lilly. Bring it here instead."

After offering a nod in her understanding, Juli made her leave. Sebastian and Joseph shared a knowing look, and the partners parted ways for the night.

Juli was prompt with her delivery of the documents to Sebastian's desk the next morning. He poured them over as he sipped mug-full after mug-full of black coffee, squinting to interpret Ruvik's chicken scratch and telling himself to not toss the documents he didn't need right into his paper shredder.

The white of a looseleaf sheet was dyed pink with blood spilled in, what Sebastian assumed was, one of Ruvik's countless experiments with human brains. Script even shakier than normal confirmed his suspicions, bullet-notes and small arrows adding onto paragraphs of the madman's thoughts.

One note headline made Sebastian's eyebrows raise, and he slapped his mug down so firmly its content threatened to spill onto the papers.

_Romantic Associations_  
A single finger followed the text as Sebastian read.

_Due to STEM's access to the subconscious, and the whole system of one's thoughts, if two users with romantic infatuations with one another will emerge from the system marked. The markings will be words/phrases significant to their relationships post-STEM._

"What the fuck does that mean?" the detective grumbled under his breath.

Ruvik's notes continued with a bullet point that read, _Phrases are exclusive to romantic connections. Platonic and familial pairs will not experience this phenomenon._

Sebastian's breath was caught in his throat. Exclusive to romantic connections. Romantic. He unconsciously gripped into the material of his slacks and pushed the notes away with a shaky hand. Ruvik was at it again, even beyond the grave; adding unnecessary stress and confusion to Sebastian's life.

His free hand tugged at his brown locks as he took a deep drink of his coffee. Myra's consciousness never left STEM when they saved Lilly, her body destroyed along with the machine to assure the final Core truly put an end to the chaos. Sebastian never got the chance to examine Myra's body before it was incinerated. So, for all he knew, she could be the one with the markings matching his.

Without thinking, his eyes drifted to the exposed skin of his arm again. _Are you alright?_ Joseph's voice saying the phrase rang in his ears. _I'm alright_ , was Joseph's own phrase.

Wait.  
 _Are you alright?_  
 _I'm alright._

Sebastian shot up in his chair, wheels sending it flying across his office. He started to run out of the room, and when he went to push the door open, it instead hit a solid obstacle with a thunk.

And that obstacle groaned out in protest. Sebastian felt a hot wash of embarrassment rush over him as he stepped back, and allowed the familiar face he hit to enter his office.

"What's the rush?" of course it was Joseph asking, as he wiped his glasses on his shirt. He squinted beyond Sebastian, taking in what his vision could of the mess of papers on his partner's desk. As he pushed the frames back onto his nose, he asked, "What's all that? You already got a new case?"

"N-No," Sebastian rushed to pile the sheets into a drawer, slamming it shut with a little too much force. He leaned forward with his palms on his desk as he inquired, "What...Did you need something?"

Joseph looked over Sebastian's form with furrowed eyebrows, slowly down towards his shoes then back up to his deep-brown eyes. "We have...a new case," his voice was hesitant, "Let's get moving."

Sebastian grunted in affirmation, rushing to follow his partner out the door with his camel-colored overcoat in hand.

During the ride in the cruiser, Sebastian didn't muster up the courage to explain to Joseph that he knew about their tattoos, that he knew everything about their tattoos. He knew Joseph would be in denial; and, even after seeing the evidence with his own eyes, Sebastian was in denial himself. Myra had the same tattoo, he convinced himself, _Myra_ did. And Joseph and Kidman must have matching tattoos; even STEM would have been able to tell Joseph has interest in her.

The pair found themselves investigating a murder, something familiar and shockingly normal to Sebastian. He never hesitated to touch a body with gloves, to pick up a horrific murder weapon and dust it for prints. It was nothing compared to what he saw in STEM with Joseph.

The day wound down in a flash, and Sebastian found himself in his office with Joseph and Juli once again. She would complain about her new partner, and Sebastian would affectionately complain about Joseph. It was the kind of normalcy Sebastian cherished in his ever-changing life.

Juli sat forward in Sebastian's desk chair. She looked between her two co-workers, before pointing a finger at Sebastian. "I have something to bring up, about those markings you talked about yesterday."

"Go on," Sebastian egged her on.

Without a word and to Sebastian's displeasure, she set the heel of one of her boots on the surface of the desk. She lifted the leg of her jeans ever so slightly, beginning to reveal...a phrase! Sebastian's excitement caused him to come in closer for a better look.

But, he began to back away slightly when he saw something unexpected. A phrase, in English; Finished.

"You look disappointed," chimed in Joseph.

Sebastian shot his partner a glare. He, in turn, chuckled into his fist.  
He stood straight once again and said, "I...read over those papers. I was just wondering if your tattoo matched with any others."

Juli nodded in understanding, standing herself and taking her leave with a wave to the partners. Joseph followed her wordlessly, leaving Sebastian alone with his thoughts to end the night.

He flopped down in his desk chair and heaved a heavy sigh. He promised himself he would never return to drinking, for Lilly's sake, but Jack Daniel's didn't sound too bad right now. There was no way it was a coincidence he and Joseph had a tattoo in Japanese; Sebastian didn't even know what the alphabet looked like until Joseph read it for him. A small voice in his head still told him, _It might just be a coincidence. Maybe, you just have to travel to Japan? And something will await you there?_

As Sebastian made his trip home, he really hoped that was the case.

  
Months passed now. Lilly was in middle school, and Sebastian was coming to terms with the harsh reality that his little girl was growing up, and fast. When he wasn't assisting his daughter with her homework or hearing about what Sally did at school that day, he had his nose buried in books in his home office.

Surrounded by textbooks and notebooks and guided by the light of his desk lamp, Sebastian was hard at work on a rather personal project. He took his time with every stroke he wrote into his notebook, eyes darting between it and his textbook many times before he decided his work was satisfactory.

_Knock Knock_  
"Dad?"

Sebastian closed his textbook with a slap at the sound of his daughter's voice. "Coming!"

As the textbook was pushed away from Sebastian and into the light of the lamp, its cover and title were fully revealed.  
Beginning Japanese

  
By the time snow stopped flying, and the trees began to bud once again, Sebastian spent more time in his KCPD office speaking Japanese than English. He was proactive to make notes to himself in his second language, and even found a speaking partner in Joseph who planted more seeds of knowledge than any book ever could.

Spring was turning into summer now, the warm breeze tossing about the blinds in Sebastian's office as Joseph let the fresh air in. He sneaked looks in his partner's direction every so often, internally complimenting his penmanship; among other things. Ever since his daughter came back into his life, Sebastian's rough edges rounded out. Long in the past were the dark circles, the untamed hair and unkempt facial hair Joseph found himself admiring. Sebastian had a glow about him now, a certain warmth that was difficult for Joseph to resist.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer."

"I wasn't looking at you," his sass was quick, "I was reading your notes."

"...It's nothing important," Sebastian spoke slowly as he wrote.

Joseph's shoes were silent as he walked to stand behind Sebastian, peering over his shoulder. He watched as every stroke of the pen was deliberate and intricate, Sebastian's attention to detail coming out with every mark on the paper. As Sebastian wrote the last few words of his thought down, Joseph took in a breath in realization.

"A trip to Japan?"

Nodding, Sebastian leaned back in his seat and looked up to Joseph. He gestured to the covered tattoo on his right arm and said, "There have to be answers regarding this there, somewhere."

Joseph hummed in understanding. "When will you be leaving?"

"Sometime in the summer, while Lilly isn't at school," Sebastian shot a smirk at Joseph, "Will you be alright without me?"

"I'll be just fine, thank you."

Sebastian laughed out loud as Joseph made his leave. As he waved and smile a smile brighter than Joseph had ever seen on him, Joseph's heart couldn't help but flutter a little.

  
The summer came almost too quickly for Sebastian; but, not quickly enough for an excited Lilly. A small, floral-themed calendar was counting down the dates until the family's trip to Tokyo; and finally, the day circled in black marker has finally come.

The flight was hours upon hours of sleep for the excited girl, but for Sebastian, it was full of anxiety. His tattoo was on full display for the first time since he received it, its basic script and modest size passable as just a normal inking. But, Sebastian could never forget its true significance.

_Romantic Associations_  
He grit his teeth. That damn Ruvik; still meddling even in death.

It was late at night once the Castellanos family arrived at their hotel room, but looking down upon the city, nobody could tell the difference between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. The sidewalks were bustling with youth going from shop to shop, or taking pictures of their unique outfits with the city lights in the backdrop.

Lilly fell right asleep, Sebastian finding some peace knowing at least she wouldn't suffer from jet-lag. On his end, he was already anticipating a sleep-deprived week in the new city. His racing mind refused to shut off, no matter what he did. So, he found solace in watching Tokyo go about its night.

While he watched couples walk hand-in-hand or take pictures together, his tired mind wandered to Joseph. One half of him wondered why, and the other half knew exactly why. After being partners with Joseph for over ten years, it was no surprise to Sebastian that he would find himself taking second glances at his partner. Extra glances while he drove the police cruiser, and a reason as to why he would put Joseph's well-being over his own.

Sebastian lifted his left hand. There it was; his charcoal-colored wedding band. After Myra disappeared, he never took it off; even now, with Myra gone, he always made the conscious effort to wear it every day. Or... _was_ it conscious? Was it just part of his routine at this point? He heaved a sigh, fogging up the glass of the window he sat by.

While he spun the cool material around his finger, he wondered what Myra would think of all this. She was aware of his sexual orientation, even before they got married; therefore, he felt she would be unsurprised to hear about his crush on Joseph. _Huh, a crush._ At nearly forty-years-old, Sebastian Castellanos has a crush.

His eyes turned to look down at the screen of his smartphone. 3:30 a.m. stared back at him, and he sighed. No use in trying to fall asleep now, to only get a few hours sleep. He leaned forward and cracked the window ever so slightly.

As the cool air hit his face, the reality of his situation hit him too. He was in Japan, thousands of miles away from home; for what? To find whoever he shared this connection with? His soulmate? Why did it even matter; he has Lilly and his job, what else could he need?

Without thinking, he pulled the window shut and climbed into the bed next to Lilly's, sinking into the plush mattress. As his eyelids became heavy, only one thing was on his mind.  
His romantic connection with Joseph Oda.

  
The following afternoon brought Sebastian and Lilly to a crowded subway car, her clinging onto her father for dear life with every jolt and stop of the train. With every stop in between theirs, people would squeeze their way out and pack in like sardines in the same breath. During one of these changes, Sebastian swore he saw a familiar face; but in the end, brushed it off as his tired mind playing games with him.

After what felt like an eternity in the hot subway car, their stop finally came. Lilly rushed right out before the doors even finished opening, dragging her father behind her like a ragdoll. In the midst of the chaos of changing passengers, Sebastian's chest took a hard hit into the back of the passenger before him.

He stopped Lilly in her tracks and used his new language skills to ask the stranger, "Are you alright?"

As the passenger turned to face Sebastian, the detective's eyebrows raised in shock as a familiar voice said, "I'm alright."

With the two men facing each other, they realized that they weren't strangers at all. In fact, they were far from it.

"Joseph!"

Joseph was flustered as Lilly reached out for a hug. He crouched to her height and welcomed her embrace, saying, "H-Hi. It's so nice to see you, Lilly."

When his daughter was back by his side, Sebastian locked eyes with Joseph. Both men were visibly searching for words, searching for the right thing to say. Their tattoos truly did hold significance, Ruvik's pure genius coming through.

As the trio shuffled out of the busy station and into daylight, they made small-talk about their journey through Tokyo and its suburbs; Lilly expressing excitement over all the cute, pink things that awaited her in her near future.

Once they were far from the crowd, Sebastian began to say, "Our tattoos--"

His sentence was stopped short when his eyes locked with his inner arm. His tattoo was gone. Joseph gasped aloud too, quickly crouching to one knee to examine his own ankle. But alas, it too was bare.

Sebastian stumbled over his words, but was silenced with a single motion of Joseph's hand. "I read those files in your desk. Romantic...associations."

Sebastian nodded. "You deserve an explanation."

"No," Joseph's words shocked Sebastian, "She was missing, and you had hope. Rightfully so, even if she's...gone now."

Sebastian chewed his lip in thought. "We should...take this somewhere else."

The trio's adventure through the suburb brought them to a small, colorful playground, where the partners rested on a bench and Lilly played and made friends despite a language barrier. Sebastian didn't have long to bask in pride when Joseph grabbed his attention once again.

"I can't believe we ran into each other," he said, "...It's a small world."

Sebastian hummed in agreement. If he were totally honest with Joseph, he would tell him that he didn't give a damn about how small the world is. He wanted to directly address the elephant in the room; their tattoos.

Sebastian broke the silence with, "Why didn't you tell me you were into me?"

"You would have torn me apart, Seb," Joseph's voice was hushed as he spoke, "You were too hell-bent on finding Myra, there was never a right time for it. Besides, I didn't want our work relationship to suffer."

Sebastian stared at Joseph, who in turn refused to look away from the few clouds in the sky. He drank in his partner's nervous form; the perfectly straight back, the fingers that fidgeted with the hem of his t-shirt. Joseph's casual self was less neat than the KCPD officer, hair slightly messy and clothes just a little wrinkled. Sebastian looked Joseph up-and-down and grinned when he saw his cheeks turn rosy in response.

"...You have a point," he insisted, "But, that was then. This is now. Our work relationship won't suffer."

Joseph raised an eyebrow at Sebastian's statement. "Really?"

"Really," Sebastian confirmed. A hand on Joseph's shoulder finally caused the two to make eye contact, and Sebastian said, "I'm willing to give it -- _us_ \-- a try, if you are, too."

Joseph didn't know where to look. His eyes went from Sebastian's lips, to his nose, to the tops of his shoes.

"Or you could date Kidman," added Sebastian as he sat back, "I know you _like_ like her."

"Seb--"

As Sebastian laughed out loud at his own joke, Joseph couldn't help but find himself laughing, too. _Giving us a try won't be so bad._

  
Lilly's life was a medley of languages now. She would watch as her father and Joseph would say something she couldn't understand and laugh, then it was her turn to laugh when Joseph points out an error in his pronunciation. And, her and Dad always took time to laugh together when they went back-and-forth in Spanish, and kept Joseph in the dark.

It was her first day of her last year of middle school now, Sebastian's little girl growing up way too fast. The family was awake early this morning, but its newest addition seemed a little lost in dreamland.

"Come on, sleepyhead," coaxed Sebastian from the bedroom doorway.

The mass under the sheets didn't flinch, even after he flicked the lights on and off. Sebastian huffed out a sigh, marching with emphasized stomps to their side of the bed.  
"I said, get up!"

With a firm yank, the sheets covering the thin form were lifted and tossed to the floor. The man underneath groaned, eyes squinting to take in his surroundings without his glasses. His half-naked form sat up on the heels of his palms slowly, and when he finally made eye contact with Sebastian, he mumbled, "Good mornin'."

"'Bout time, Joseph."

Sebastian stood aside to allow his partner to get ready. As he stood, his eyes lowered to his backside. While there was a glint of admiration in his eyes for a moment, it quickly turned to shock when he asked, "Are those _my_ boxers?"

"Mhm," replied Joseph's sleepy voice from the connected bathroom, "I don't have any clothes here yet; sharing is caring, Sebastian."

When he came to stand in the bathroom's doorway, Sebastian found himself lost in admiring Joseph. Taking in all of his features, his faint muscles and the way his clothes hung on his hips. Joseph caught him staring, and shot him a smile in the mirror that lasted a few more seconds than normal. His smile only grew when Sebastian stepped forward and planted a kiss on his cheek, lips lingering ever so slightly on his skin.

"Dad?!"

"Duty calls," Sebastian whispered into Joseph's skin, before bounding down the stairs.

With Sebastian gone, Joseph released a breath he didn't know he was holding. The faint feeling of Sebastian's lips sent a chill down his spine. Joseph adored Sebastian; adored everything about him, from his dedication to his love ones to his stubbornness. Before, he would never say he loved Sebastian, or rather, loved him more than a friend.

Now, sitting on the last step on the staircase and watching as Sebastian fussed over his daughter, he was completely sure where his heart was.

It was with Sebastian Castellanos. His KCPD partner, and the man he loves.


End file.
